WANA (Mar 25) – Military sources and field witnesses have reported that a significant number of Iranian ballistic missiles struck the Dimona area in the Negev Desert, southern Israel—an area that has long been at the center of security and strategic analyses due to hosting some of the country’s most sensitive nuclear facilities.

 

These developments come in the wake of the targeting of the Natanz facility and Iran’s large-scale response. Dimona is not merely an ordinary residential town; it is home to the well-known nuclear center often referred to as the Shimon Peres facility, considered a cornerstone of Israel’s nuclear weapons program, which has been active since the 1960s.

 

The Dimona facility, constructed with French assistance in the late 1950s, is regarded as one of Israel’s most critical nuclear sites. While officially described as a “research” center, experts and international bodies assess it as a site for plutonium production used in nuclear weapons development.

 

Specifications and Strategic Importance of the Dimona Nuclear Facility

The site is located approximately 13 kilometers southeast of the city of Dimona and operates outside full supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

 

Israel is also not a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). Expert estimates suggest that Israel possesses between 80 and 400 nuclear warheads, many of whose core components are believed to have been produced at Dimona.

 

The internal structure of the facility reportedly includes a heavy-water reactor with an estimated capacity of 70 to 150 megawatts, a reprocessing unit for plutonium extraction, uranium enrichment research laboratories, and a radioactive waste management division. Revelations by former technician Mordechai Vanunu have further confirmed details of its internal operations.

 

High-Level Protection and Security Systems

Dimona is considered one of the most heavily protected areas in Israel. It is surrounded by restricted airspace and equipped with advanced defense systems, including Arrow 3, David’s Sling, and Patriot missile systems, along with the U.S.-made AN/TPY-2 radar for early detection and tracking.

 

Protocols such as immediate engagement of any unauthorized aircraft and GPS jamming to divert precision-guided missiles are reportedly in place at the site.

 

The reported impact of Iranian missiles in this highly secured area—despite its multiple layers of defense—has raised serious questions about the effectiveness of Israel’s missile defense shield. At the same time, Israeli authorities have imposed strict censorship, limiting the release of field data and preventing independent assessments of the extent of the damage.